PORTLAND, Ore. – The U.S. Supreme Court hears oral arguments this morning in the Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association case aimed at protecting the First Amendment rights of free speech and free association for public employees nationwide, including Oregon.

Rebecca Friedrichs and nine other California public school teachers argue that their Constitutional rights are being violated by the collection of so-called “fair share” or “agency” fees from their paychecks to pay for services the teachers don’t want, from a union whose political goals they oppose.

The Court has long allowed both public and private sector employees to opt out of union membership and the political portion of union dues, but has allowed unions to collect fees for bargaining and representation purposes. Now, Rebecca Friedrichs and her colleagues are arguing that in the public sector, everything their union does is inherently political and therefore they should not be compelled to support that organization with their money.

Organizations and individuals across the country have filed Amicus Briefs with the Court in this case, including two Oregon public employees who have opted out of membership in the labor union that represents them, but are still “…required to make ‘payments-in-lieu-of-dues’ to SEIU….” Their brief was submitted by local attorneys Jill Gibson and James Huffman. Mr. Huffman is Dean Emeritus of Lewis & Clark Law School in Portland and an Academic Advisor to Cascade Policy Institute.

“In bringing her case to the U.S. Supreme Court Rebecca Friedrichs may become the most well-known public school teacher in America—and the most controversial. She is taking this action because, in her own words, ‘It’s time to set aside this union name-calling and all this fear mongering, and let’s put America and her children first, and let’s put the rights of individuals above the rights of these powerful unions.’”

Buckstein adds,

“Cascade Policy Institute stands with Rebecca Friedrichs and her colleagues in this important First Amendment struggle. We look forward to the Court ruling in favor of individual rights above the rights of what Rebecca calls ‘these powerful unions’.”

The Court is expected to announce its ruling near the end of June.

Cascade Policy Institute is a nonprofit, nonpartisan public policy research and educational organization that focuses on state and local issues in Oregon. Cascade’s mission is to develop and promote public policy alternatives that foster individual liberty, personal responsibility, and economic opportunity.

Please join us for our monthly Policy Picnic led by Cascade President and CEO John A. Charles, Jr.

Topic:Portland-Milwaukie Light Rail: Comparing Promises with Reality

Description: TriMet’s newest MAX line opened on September 12. At $210 million per mile, this was the most expensive light rail line in Portland history. Now that it’s open, is it making the traveling public better off?

In this seminar, we revisit the Utopian predictions made by transit planners in 2008, and measure those against the early performance of the line.

The Wall Street Journal called Bovard “the roving inspector general of the modern state,” the New York Times tagged him “an anti-czar Czar,” and Washington Post columnist George Will called him a “one-man truth squad.”

His writings have been publicly denounced by the chief of the FBI, the chief of the TSA, the Secretary of Labor, the Secretary of Agriculture, the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, the Postmaster General, the Sierra Club, the American Civil Liberties Union, and the Washington Post, among others.

Dan Alban serves as an attorney with the Institute for Justice. He litigates cutting-edge constitutional cases protecting free speech, property rights, economic liberty and other individual liberties in both federal and state courts.

Before joining IJ, Dan practiced employment law in the Tysons Corner office of Littler Mendelson P.C., with a focus on employment litigation in both federal courts and Virginia state court. Prior to that, he served as a law clerk for Chief Judge Royce C. Lamberth on the United States District Court for the District of Columbia. Dan started his legal career in private practice at Wiley Rein LLP in Washington, DC, working primarily in telecommunications litigation and mass media regulatory law.

Dan received his law degree cum laude from Harvard Law School in 2006, where he was an Executive Editor of the Harvard Journal of Law & Public Policy. From 2000 to 2003, Dan worked at the Institute for Humane Studies in Arlington, Virginia. In 2000, Dan earned his undergraduate degree in Political Rhetoric from Berry College in Rome, Georgia. Dan originally hails from Nampa, Idaho.

The Executive Club and Cascade Policy Institute were pleased to welcome David Nott, president of Reason Foundation, at the Executive Club’s September 2, 2015 dinner event. Introduction by Cascade founder Steve Buckstein.

David Nott is president of Reason Foundation, a non-profit think tank advancing free minds and free markets. The foundation also publishes the award-winning and critically acclaimed national magazine, Reason. Reason Foundation hosts the annual Reason Media Awards featuring the Bastiat Prize. David created Reason.tv and the Drew Carey Project to produce and distribute internet video journalism, whose home page has reached over 200 million hits since its launch as well as the Reason.com news, which receives over 3 million hits a month. He is executive producer of the Reason Foundation 2013 film, “America’s Longest War: A Film About Drug Prohibition.”

David is an engineer by training. He received his Bachelor of Arts and Sciences with Distinction, in economics and engineering, from Stanford University. He has three children and resides in El Segundo.

The Executive Club and Cascade Policy Institute are pleased to welcome political journalist John Fund, at the Executive Club’s October 7th dinner event.

John Fund has reported from Washington for 30 years. He believes it is best understood as an “alien planet,” where the conventional laws of economics, common sense, propriety, and good taste are frequently suspended. He will give us a tour of Washington from as insider’s eye, including a keen look at the current presidential field.

Formerly a Wall Street Journal editorial board member, John Fund is currently the national-affairs columnist for National Review Online and a senior editor at The American Spectator. He has been a guest speaker for Cascade Policy Institute and the Executive Club in the past, and it is a delight to have him back in Portland.

Date: Wednesday, October 7, 2015

Time: Buffet dinner begins at 6:30pm. The regular program starts at 7:00 pm.

For Millennials, achieving success will be more difficult than it was for young Americans in the past. This is because Washington made decisions that render their lives more difficult than those of their parents or grandparents. Too many public primary and secondary schools are failing their students, college graduates are saddled with heavy debt burdens, and labor market restrictions keep young Americans from building their careers. Meanwhile, Washington expects Millennials to pay higher taxes for government entitlement and health care programs that benefit middle-aged and older Americans, most of whom have better jobs and more assets. It is time to address the crisis facing America’s young. The future of America can be saved, but only if Washington’s betrayal comes to an end.

This special event is a critical talk for Millennials, Gen Xers, Baby Boomers, and the Greatest Generation. Jared Meyer is a fantastic, engaging young speaker. His presentation is designed to bring all the generations together to promote a path to preserving our American way of life for years to come. Bring your kids; bring your grandkids; young adults, bring your grandparents!

Jared Meyer is a fellow at the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research. His research interests include microeconomic theory and the economic effects of government regulations. Meyer is the coauthor along with Diana Furchtgott-Roth of Disinherited: How Washington Is Betraying America’s Young (Encounter Books, May 2015). His research has been published in numerous publications, including The Wall Street Journal, Yahoo! Finance, RealClearPolitics, City Journal, and New York Post. Meyer has appeared on numerous radio and television shows, including the BBC World Service, NPR, Fox News, and CSPAN. He received a B.S. in finance and a minor in the philosophy of law from St. John’s University in New York. Follow him on Twitter @JaredMeyer10.

Today our lives are increasingly regulated by decisions of unelected bureaucrats at all levels of government, from simple zoning and land use decisions to IRS audits to judicial pronouncements imposing monetary sanctions and other conditions ordaining how we conduct business (and with whom).

Is this a necessity required by the complexities of modern life, or merely the raw exercise of government power as old as kings and queens? What do the United States and state constitutions say about it? Should we as citizens continue to tolerate it? What, if anything, should we do to limit or stop it?

Herb Grey is a Beaverton attorney with almost 35 years of civil practice experience handling a variety of cases, including constitutional and civil rights litigation in state and federal courts, as well as practicing before administrative agencies. He is a member of the Oregon State Bar and is admitted to practice in all Oregon state courts and before the U.S. District Court in Oregon, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, and the United States Supreme Court.

Herb is an allied attorney affiliated with Alliance Defending Freedom, a Christian public interest law firm, and a long-time member of the Christian Legal Society. Herb is currently serving as lead counsel defending Aaron and Melissa Klein, dba Sweet Cakes by Melissa, in a high-profile freedom of conscience case investigated, charged, prosecuted, and decided by the Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries and Commissioner Brad Avakian, now on appeal.

There is no charge for this event, but reservations are required as space is limited.

Cascade Policy Institute presents Professor Mark Skousen, named “one of the top 20 most influential living economists,” as he reveals “What Hidden Forces Lead to Economic Growth and a Higher Standard of Living?” and “Why are some countries rich and others poor?”

Thirty states have already undertaken the Medicaid expansion encouraged by the Affordable Care Act. In Oregon, more than one in 4 people are now enrolled in Medicaid. Enrollment is nearly twice as high as originally thought, and now lawmakers are looking at a half-billion-dollar state deficit after grossly miscalculating the projection.

In an attempt to reconcile the $300 million Cover Oregon fiasco, the Kitzhaber administration had centered in on fast-track Medicaid enrollment. Oregonians were incentivized and encouraged to sign up for Medicaid, with ObamaCare extending the eligibility requirements to adults earning up to 138% of the federal poverty level.

As the federal government will soon require Oregon and other states to be responsible for part of Medicaid costs, lawmakers are already talking about increasing the nearly two-billion-dollar bipartisan hospital tax that Governor Kate Brown signed in March.

Health insurance policy is in desperate need of market-based reforms. A competitive free market can ensure quality and affordability. Government handouts and regulations simply drive up costs that in this case will be borne by taxpayers.

Thomas Tullis is a research associate at Cascade Policy Institute, Oregon’s free market think tank. He is a student at the University of Oregon, where he is studying Journalism and Political Science.

This event is free to attend. If you would like to purchase the dinner buffet, you are welcome to do so for $20 at the door.

About David Nott:

David Nott is president of Reason Foundation, a non-profit think tank advancing free minds and free markets. The foundation also publishes the award-winning and critically acclaimed national magazine, Reason. Reason Foundation hosts the annual Reason Media Awards featuring the Bastiat Prize. David created Reason.tv and the Drew Carey Project to produce and distribute internet video journalism, whose home page has reached over 200 million hits since its launch as well as the Reason.com news, which receives over 3 million hits a month. He is executive producer of the Reason Foundation 2013 film, “America’s Longest War: a Film About Drug Prohibition.”

David is an engineer by training. He received his Bachelor of Arts and Sciences with Distinction, in economics and engineering, from Stanford University. He has three children and resides in El Segundo.

Reservations for this joint Executive Club/Cascade event are appreciated but not required. We hope to see you on September 2!